Taiwan Chinese chip manufacturing company relocates to Japan, Korea is ‘excluded’ from being a ‘semiconductor powerhouse’
Taiwanese and Chinese chip manufacturers have established production facilities in Japan, excluding Korea from making Japan a semiconductor powerhouse.
In the past two years, at least nine Taiwanese semiconductor companies have set up factories or expanded operations in Japan, with a growing number of Taiwanese semiconductor companies coming to support the new TSMC, as Japan's efforts to rebuild its semiconductor industry are gaining momentum.
Reuters reports that the influx of semiconductors is also fueling expectations about the prospects for Japanese semiconductors, and this influx is expected to shift alliances and priorities in the global semiconductor industry as the United States seeks to limit China's advancement in advanced semiconductors and strengthen partnerships among its allies. It was reported on the 22nd that it came out amidst changes.
Alchip Technologies, a China-based application-specific semiconductor chip (ASIC) manufacturer, said in 2022 that most of Alchip's research and development engineers, who were previously based in China, will now begin moving bases overseas, with "a large portion moving to Japan." “It was done,” Reuters said, citing the official.
“We are looking forward to the growth of the Japanese semiconductor market, and we continue to take advantage of opportunities in Japanese ASICs and are already participating in several good projects,” Hiroyuki Furuzono, general manager of RChip Japan, told Reuters.
Regarding RChip's staffing, an official said, "The company is recruiting in Japan, North America, and Taiwan."
Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest custom chip manufacturer, will hold its first factory opening ceremony on the 24th on the southern island of Kyushu, Japan, a chip manufacturing hub.
TSMC's U.S.-invested Arizona plant is experiencing difficulties due to uneven construction, but the Japanese plant is going smoothly, and TSMC even announced its second fab plan in Japan, bringing the total investment amount to over $20 billion.
“Japan is a natural fit in terms of its hard-working work culture and its easy-to-manage and subsidy-generous government,” TSMC said in a statement to Reuters.
“The core strength of a semiconductor powerhouse lies not only in its leading companies but also in its strong ecosystem,” said Nori Chiu, investment director at White Oak Capital. “Japan’s active government support, characterized by significant subsidies and minimal political interference, makes it superior to many other countries.” “It differentiates itself while promoting development,” he told Reuters.
In addition to TSMC, Rapidus, a joint chip foundry venture previously supported by the Japanese government, will mass produce chips on the northern island of Hokkaido starting in 2027.
Lapidus was established as a joint venture between major Japanese companies, and now Taiwan's Powerchip is attempting to establish a foundry factory worth $5.4 billion in Japan, and the Japanese government is seeking subsidies.
Global Unichip (GUC), a Taiwanese application-specific semiconductor (ASIC) company sponsored by TSMC, is also strengthening its entry into Japan.
ASIC companies say fabless designers are “attracted by both engineering talent and business opportunities,” Reuters reported.
Finesse Technology, a semiconductor equipment and maintenance company, is a key contractor for TSMC and is now building a factory in Japan.
TSMC supplier Marketech is expanding its presence in Japan, Reuters said, citing sources.
“This trend is likely to continue for some time as part of decoupling,” said Takamoto Suzuki, head of China economic research at trading firm Marubeni. “Japan may not have enough young scientific industry workers to meet immediate demand,” he told Reuters. said in
“The prospect of TSMC building a fab in Japan has attracted support from disparate parts of the semiconductor industry,” Damian Thong, head of Japan research at Macquarie Capital Securities, told Reuters. “They have created a snowball effect around it.” .
TrendForce, a market research firm specializing in semiconductors, said, “By 2027, as Taiwan’s leadership is weakened by the United States’ aggressive expansion, its foundry capacity for advanced processes will fall to two-thirds, and Japan’s global share will decrease to three. “It will increase to %,” he told Reuters.
Taiwan's TSMC has partnerships with companies including Japan's Sony and Toyota Motor Corp. The monthly production capacity of its two fabs exceeds 100,000 12-inch wafers, strengthening Japan's access to chips essential for the defense industry beyond electronic vehicles. It's a trend.
Japan's semiconductor strategy is to establish a No. 1 system in the country through Rapidus, a foundry venture led by semiconductor industry veterans, and is building a mass production system for cutting-edge chips on the northern island of Hokkaido starting in 2027.
Lapidus, which Japan has been building on its own for decades, is a potential rival to Taiwan's TSMC and is partnering with IBM.
Tong, head of Macquarie Securities, predicted Lapidus' breakthrough, saying, "There is no doubt that TSMC will be dominant, but Japan will try to prove that TSMC is valid as a second place."
“Japan can leverage its expertise in areas such as photoresists, image sensors and packaging, which are the chemicals needed to manufacture chips, which are increasingly important for improving chip performance,” said Joanne Chiao, TrendForce analyst. It’s getting worse,” he told Reuters.
The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) estimates that major semiconductor companies will need 40,000 more engineers over 10 years.
The number of workers in Japan's semiconductor-related businesses has fallen by about a fifth over the past two decades, and now the Japanese government and universities are stepping up efforts to encourage students to enter the semiconductor field, Reuters said.
The Trend Force report said on the 19th, “Order demand for AI chips has revived due to supply improvements from Nvidia and AMD, but on the contrary, demand for smartphones, PCs, laptops, and general-purpose servers is still weak,” and “China’s smartphone market.” maintained its procurement momentum in the fourth quarter of last year, while Apple's smartphone orders fell 20% in the first quarter.”
The report continued, “Against the backdrop of slowing growth in the ICT sector, Murata and Samsung are feeling the pressure, with their latest quarterly reports showing declines in both revenue and profits, and this overstocked market scenario has forced suppliers to produce more to navigate ongoing pricing pressures. “Heavyweights such as Intel and Texas Instruments have signaled downward revisions in their recent financial forecasts, are seeing declining orders and shipments, and expect MLCC shipments in the first quarter of 2024.” “We expect to see a 7% decline on a quarterly basis.”